Words Can Heal A Broken Heart
by TheCountessAndTheEnglishLord
Summary: Collction of poetry focusing on the passionate, turbulent, relentless relationship between Cora and Robert.
1. Never

_Cora and Robert's passion in prose._

**Never**

Black and white

Transparency

Only today to be wild and free

Holding back

Holding out

And never letting go

For life, for love, for game, for chance

Brilliant fluorescent dark crimson

Hold me

Tight

Grasping the sill

Clutching at straws

Last chance before it blows

Strangle by the hammers blow

Thunder in my head

Thunder in my brain

Hammering like the anvil

Never letting up

Never let me go

Crying by the wishing well

I'm holding out for you

Juts one more night, another fight

And I can be with you

Hold me right

Hold me tight

Never let me go

Hold me right

Hold me tight

and never let me go


	2. And Another

**And Another**

_their emotions when the lights go out at night_

A gasp

A cry

A tear in the eye

A gap in the bed

A way to erase what he said

A sigh

A groan

A crisp white sheet

Another night for them to meet

A shake

A whisper

A held hand by the lamp light

Another time to hold on for dear life

A cool cool dark night

A moan

A grasp

A tightening of limbs

A hold

A confirmation

Another night they hold on and they never let up; breaking the bonds of their limits set up by the conventions of the time.


	3. The Refusal

**The Refusal**

**_Cora's fear and sadness over Robert's motive to marry her, and his shock at her response._**

Broken open like a shattered glass

Exposed like a bare wall

Struck like a cheek aflame

Wounded like a hunted deer

And she turns away from the chance

Refusing the bait

Offered up as if readying for the kill

He shirks away from her rebuttal

His pride indented

An impossible refusal

But it's not her choice

Yet he is crushed, flattened, angered;

His chance, weakened by his lack of love, seemingly gone.


	4. Cold and Warm, Blue and Red

**Cold and Warm, Blue and Red**

**_They no longer feel that passion or connection until they see their grieving daughter._**

Neither fully in shape

Out of practise

Holding out a hand to touch the nape

Of her neck

She twists and turns, a picture of blue

Red glinting in her hair

A mane to build the stair

To his redemptive future

Clutching at their last chances

Out of practise

Where is that passion?

Where is that quaking love that channeled their every move?

How can you mend the broken pieces

When you don't know how they fit in?

How do you measure times gone by

With a ruler that's bent and misshapen?

Ruled by a cold heart

Ending in a warm bed

Never to rest

Never to sleep

Least ways not while they grieve

Least ways not while they still are cold

No longer a connection

Binding them so close

No longer that retention of cold cold hopes

A knot to tie

Eyes to the sky

Watching watching now

Push to the edge

Hands on the ridge

And the curtain draws me down.


	5. The Sweet Scent of Summer

_The inexplicable fascination with Robert and Cora in prose_

**The Sweet Scent of Summer**

Beauty is not just a flower in bloom

But the sweet honey that trickles in the hive

The gentle breeze lilting in the mid-morning sunshine

And the blue clear open sky

Her footsteps light and mannered

Cool against the damp grass; bare feet exposed

And he touches her lightly

Gently, with love

Pulling her onto the dew

Grasping at her beauty

With his bare hands

Why do we see them in such a light

Why do they resonate within the world of fantasy?

What is our obsession

What is our intention

Can we change the course of their lives with the flick of a pen, the click of the plastic beneath our fingers

We can only imagine

The truth, their love, what lies beneath.

We can only fabricate their fate.


	6. A Half Lived Life

_What if they were trapped in their own story, never to leave until they were shown true love by someone they had never realised could be true?_

**A Half Lived Life**

Curving round to meet her

They intertwine

Perfectly conjoined

Never apart, constantly fused

For when a painter mused

He painted them holding hands,

So that this might go on forever

And never be free

From their oil-stained cheeks

They are still connected, attached

Holding their gazes until they cannot glance away

For the intimacy is too much

Drag your hand against their skin

For it is icy, freezing cold

Wholesome in their half-lived life

They starve and groan

In their strife

'Feed us'

'Give us water'

'We are alive in your hands'

'We want out; we want life'

'Not stuck in an eternal dream'

The painter didn't listen to a word

Lost in the space where no ordinary man goes

Oblivious to the vivacity of his characters

Leaping in the painting

Waving with all their might

Begging for attention

Desperately waiting for intervention

Of their half-lived life

* * *

But the writer placed the pen to paper

Writing them out of the scene

Their tears ran till they choked

Their throats croaked

Whilst the man stooped over in pain

A cold hard floor

An empty chair

The abandoned pen

The couple holding hands

For their creator has no capacity

To write them out or write them in

They stand, more obvious than passion in a crowded room

Watching with their lids tight shut

* * *

An open door

A frenzied cry

Too late, they've come, I tell you no lie

The man and woman

They stand alone

Watching from the parchment

As the pages turn

Slowly enveloping them

* * *

But their chapter is not over

Their book is carried to the smallest one

Ringlets abundant

Cherubim cheeked

She gasps and chuckles

Reading them back in

A miracle creator

They step in time, into time

Their feet, they fall, a soundless cry

The girl stares and stares

At them standing

As real as you and me

On her bedroom landing

* * *

They gazed at each other

Cried, wept, cheered, sang

Grasped and held one another

For their fairytale

Reality bound

Was the same as any other woman and man

They couldn't believe their eyes

The child, so beautiful, cries

For she is their product of passion

In a fractured space of parchment

Hidden from the creator's view

(who is not yet even bound to the earth)

Their little angel, gossamer winged

Rushes to them close at hand

They embrace, cold turning to warm

They three turn another page

And write their own little world.

* * *

**I hope you like this, I desperately wanted to write about being written, and how it could make you feel. Because no matter what you believe, all characters in a story, or a painting, or even in a children's storybook - are as real as you and me.**


	7. Not A Brave Nobleman

**Not A Brave Nobleman**

**Robert's sadness and disappointment at not being able to go to the front in wartime. **

Not a brave nobleman

Not even a leader

Just a thing to stare at, to create cheer

A mascot, like a charm

What a joke I am! What more am I than a machine?

My wife stares at me

Glassy eyed

And attempts to console me

But I know her time is wasted,

A disappointment,

An undisturbed perfection of a warhead

Without me

And it buries beneath my skin

Digging deep, wounding my pride

Nothing to cling to

Dragging me lower and lower

How can this be right?

How long is this war to go on for?

How long am I to be ridiculed?

I cannot even look like a soldier

I look like a fake, a mock-up

My wife she looks pained

I suppose it is my doing

I have heaped my wearisome tasks upon her

And she is suffering

A china doll in a bakery

And the bread has gone stale

Mould creeping in at the soft centre

Like myself, a stick in the mud

Someone out of line, it's me

Someone makes a mistake, it's me

Is it the way I merely stand that gets their eyes wide and her hands rubbing together in glee?

Or is it the station

The position that I am bound to for life?


	8. Refusing Romantic Designs

_Simon Bricker's advances from Cora's point of view._

**Refusing Romantic Designs**

No one could truly say

That it is wrong

No one could truly say

That he's treating me terribly

But I have to admit, freely

He makes me feel like I deserve my opinion

He makes me feel wholesome and good

I do not care for him that way, but

He intrigues me with his designs on art

And he steps closer, closer still

Prodding gently

A niggling hurt that I know goes deeper than it should

I ignore it, as he cares

I take one step back too far

It is wrong

And I go too far, stepping off the edge

He walk in

He stands in front of me, blocking my decision tree

And I am trapped

He is a vulture, circling ever closer to me

And a saving grace

A blow to the head

A cry

A crash

A knock at the door

My daughter, pale cheeked, worried, unnervingly so

I turn

I gasp

He goes

And _he _goes.


	9. The Importance of Revitalisation

**The Importance of Revitalisation**

_Cora and Robert in the first year of their marriage._

Animal attraction only works

When both sides agree

This relationship just won't collide

Passion only numbered by their planning

A desire to have him and to hold him

Revitalisation is futile

She wishes with all her might

A brush off, a refusal, an ignorance of her

One too many times

The wedding is pale in comparison to her gladness

The honeymoon strained and taught

The nightly rituals by number

The day's disorder overthrown

Not quite a perfect match

He retreats, cowed and confused

Revitalisation is the key

To pulling from this extremity

She grasps his hand

And kisses him sighing in the moonlight

What a chance!

What a daring move!

But

A year, months and months of waiting

Torturous

Dire need of him

And eventually

'I'd like to sleep in your bed tonight'

A break through

An important realisation

Blissful encounters

Love adorned with gold

And the importance of revitalisation

Is perfection itself


	10. Burning

**Burning**

_We have seen Cora's view of Bricker, but what is Robert's and what does he think when he sees him in her bedroom?_

That unorthodox dealer

That tiresome cad

How can he march in and take all that I have?

His sharp, smothering gazes

Wither her to mush

Flirting with every living breathing thing

A despicable rush

How can that tyrant dare step so close

Break our connection

And ruin our hopes?

How can he believe she will love him

So true

We have our love

So there's a day he can rue

But a door that is shut.

A door that is barring me from entering.

My permission

In I step

And _he_ stands, close enough to kiss

I close my fist on his face

Red red blood

Burning in my brain

Hot hot anger

Burning in my brain

And he shirks back

But she retreats too

And I have messed up

One too many times

We are stuck in glue.


	11. Break Free

_Cora's desperation for Robert._

**Break Free**

Break free

Hold me close

Hold me in

Tug at my laces

Drag me against the agony

Thrust me into my hurt

Tangle me in passion

You can say what you want to but I have to

Break free

Let me go from your arms

Let me dance in your embrace

Let me

Let me out and in

Break me out of these chains

Crying blood

I pull and push

To and fro

Back and forth

Break free

Dangle me in my wash of happiness

Push me into the water of our bliss

And watch me drown

Break me apart

Tear us at the seams

Count our blessings

And break me free.

Oh pull my hands to my head

And break us free.

* * *

_these words were inspired by 'break free' by colbie caillat._


	12. Cold As Ice

_Robert and Cora after Matthew dies, and their attempt to help Mary._

**Cold As Ice**

A gap in the ranks

A lost title

Bobbing on the breeze

Whistling through their hair

His voice echoing through their minds

A constant reminder of the times gone by

A new addition, how did they get in this position?

His leaving leaves a mark

Indelible and permanent

But they can slowly patch up

Cover over and heal the pen grazed across paper

A letter, formality, signed and sealed

True blue

All down in word

Yet she grieves without a word

They cannot shift her

Cannot make her change her mind

A cold hard stare

Malicious glare

In their eyes they feel her pain

But she refuses

A cool pointed gaze

Stuck in a maze

Of malcontent

Why did this leave so indelibly

Why did he go when everything was solved?

A printed document can solve a problem

In her cold and blank eyes.

A kiss and a sigh

And it's created anew

Holding close to be safe

She watches and waits

Still gazing from the gates.


	13. Undoing

_Their undoing - their weaknesses_

**Undoing**

A little nudge, a bite of the lip

Tantalising touch

A sparkling eye

She brushes her hand against his

Desperate for him; keening for passion

Desperate for her undoing

A tug of the sheets and he slides in slowly

Wrapping his arms around her, he pulls her to him

A safe haven; comfort; joy

A new year can bring happiness and heartbreak

But when they're holding hands they won't be cold

And their love can last for years

A beacon of enduring affection

A hope for the sweeter

She takes him by the hand

And leads him down the pleasure path

The road of contentment

Her undoing

Her point to break

He latches onto her; decidedly determined

To have, to hold, to cherish

His Cora, his love

His every breath of this life

His only cure

His muse

His admiration

His undoing

For who can do us up

When we are undone?


	14. Sunlight

_Robert's musings on his beautiful wife._

**Sunlight**

Golden

Golden hues glint on your skin

Hot under our grasp

We clutch at one another

Physicality undermined

Our minds fused, one and the same

Glowing your eyes are shining

Glow

Soft ivory soft touch all over you

What a perfect,

perfect realisation of you.


End file.
